Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Fat Tuesday

Happy Fat Tuesday! I've always wanted to go to New Orleans, especially during Mardi Gras. Someday I will get there, but in the meantime I get to have fun at my first-ever Mardi Gras party!

I decided that I wanted to dress up and I just had to have the requisite Mardi Gras mask. This crafty lady had to, of course, make her own.

I bought a little 79 cent plastic mask from Michaels along with some fun feathers. I had some rhinestones, glitter glue and alcohol inks on hand to round out my supplies.

While I had alcohol inks, I had never actually USED them. *GASP* I've seen them demonstrated numerous times and love the look. I determined that this was the perfect time to give them a go. What fun! I used the Tim Holtz alcohol ink applicator along with three colors of ink and love the effect that it created.

After I dabbed the alcohol inks onto the plastic mask, I let it dry. Being an altered artist, I felt the need to add some words to the mask. I went through a newspaper and found a variety of words and phrases to fit into my idea of a mask of positivity. I wear this mask of positivity in real life (a figurative one) and thought it fun to create a tangible replica. In the case of this positivity mask, I believe it is not something I hide behind but something that defines me. I despise whining and complaining, and work hard to always find the positive aspect of every situation. Sometimes the positivity is not IN the situation itself, but in what we learn from a situation and how we grow as a result.

Armed with my positive words and phrases, I began to adhere my "positive outlook" onto my mask. After adhering the words I glued the rhinestones and feathers. I finished the piece with a little glitter glue to line the eyes.